Despite the general air of decline - or even worse, numerical and doctrinal collapse (not unrelated) - here are a few encouraging contemporary Anglican developments:
Firstly, from the Church in Wales - where the future for orthodoxy looks particularly bleak - the setting up of the Benedictine- inspired Holywell Community in Abergavenny [here and here]
Kudos to Fr Mark Soady and his parish.
And secondly, the Archbishop of Canterbury is setting up the Community of St Anselm specifically for young people to experience 'prayer, study, practical service and community life.'
All right, these communities have temporary vows and a somewhat looser interpretation of Benedictine community than is traditional (and in the case of the Lambeth experiment we need to be more than a little wary of the liberal jargon - "through these disciplines, they will also be immersed in the modern challenges of the global 21st century church...") but - in very dark days indeed - in these very small beginnings may there be a tiny glimmer of hope? The Lord moves in mysterious ways ...
That is good news. Power to the Benedictine Rule.
ReplyDeletePrayers too for the Church in Wales (remember us in Texas too as we fight off the "plaintiffs")